Zambrano Takes Mound
Carlos Zambrano felt right at home in his last game.
After making history, he can expect quite an ovation at Wrigley Field on Friday before trying to help the Chicago Cubs take one more step toward their second straight postseason appearance.
In his first start after tossing a no-hitter, Zambrano can help the Cubs move closer to repeating as NL Central champions as they meet the St. Louis Cardinals.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Chicago -175 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8 total runs (Game Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 76% of bets for this game have been placed on Chicago -175 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
On Sunday, Zambrano became the first Cubs pitcher to throw a no-hitter in 36 years when he defeated the Astros 5-0 in a game relocated to Miller Park – some 90 miles north of Chicago. The series was to be played in Houston, but the first two games were shifted to Milwaukee before Hurricane Ike raked the Texas coast.
Though Chicago was the road team, many of the 23,441 in attendance made the short trip and saw Zambrano (14-5, 3.41 ERA) give up one walk and strike out a season-high 10 to become the first Cub since Milt Pappas in 1972 to throw a no-hitter.
"Playing here in Milwaukee, we knew the crowd would be on our side," Zambrano said. "In the same way, we feel bad for the Astros, for the hurricane and all that’s been happening in Houston. But we have to continue and we have to keep playing baseball."
Perhaps more impressive was that Zambrano’s no-no came after he missed a start due to shoulder tendinitis.
"I’m just shocked," he said. "You know, it’s a great feeling."
Only one player in major league history – Cincinnati’s Johnny Vander Meer in 1938 – has pitched back-to-back no-hitters. Since 1954, there have been 29 complete games following a no-hitter, and only five have tossed complete-game shutouts with Montreal’s Charlie Lea in 1981 being the last.
Zambrano lost his only start at home against the Cardinals this season, though, giving up a season-high nine runs in just 4 1-3 innings of a 12-3 defeat on Aug. 9. The right-hander had won his previous four starts against St. Louis (79-73).
Chicago (92-59) pulled off an improbable comeback to beat Milwaukee on Friday and reduce its magic number to 2. Rookie Geovany Soto hit a game-tying three-run homer off closer Salomon Torres with two out in the ninth, and Derrek Lee singled home the winning run in the 12th to give the Cubs a 7-6 win.
"It shows the character of our team," Lee said. "All of a sudden in the ninth off a good closer we score four runs and like that it’s a tie game. We kept chipping away and grinding it out."
Should the Cubs win for the seventh time in eight games, they would clinch their second straight division title under Lou Piniella if Milwaukee loses in Cincinnati on Friday night.
"The beauty of baseball is you never know what is going to happen until that final out," Piniella said. "Let’s win tomorrow if we can and whatever happens on the road (to the Brewers) happens."
For the Cubs to take care of business on their end, they’ll have to try to beat Adam Wainwright (9-3, 3.20) as he looks to win his fifth consecutive decision for St. Louis. The right-hander didn’t get a decision in his only start against Chicago this year, and is 0-3 with a 6.44 ERA in 14 appearances – five starts – versus the Cubs.
Wainwright was tagged for a season high-tying six earned runs in only four-plus innings Saturday as the Cardinals fell 7-6 in 12 innings to Pittsburgh. In six starts after losing to the Pirates in June and after missing 2 1/2 months due to a sprained finger, Wainwright is 4-0 with a 3.41 ERA.
St. Louis snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Reds on Thursday. Albert Pujols drove in three runs with his 34th homer, and Kyle Lohse pitched into the seventh inning to notch his team-high 14th win.
Pujols had been 0-for-8 in the series coming before homering off rookie wins leader Edinson Volquez.
"You know, sooner or later, Albert’s going to do something," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "We were holding him in check the last two days."
The 2005 NL MVP is hitting .250 (13-for-52) with five homers, nine RBI – and 11 strikeouts – against Zambrano.
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